1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus such as a portable computer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various portable computers, such as notebook personal computers and hand-held personal computers, have recently been developed. This type of portable computer has a housing with a keyboard on its top surface and a display unit rotatably attached to the housing. While the display unit is open, a user can input information using a keyboard while seeing a display screen of the display unit.
If, however, the user orients the portable computer to the partner who faces the user to let the partner see the display screen, the user cannot operate the keyboard.
Pen-based computers with no keyboards, such as PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), have also recently been developed. Most of the pen-based computers include a housing and a flat panel display built in the housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,098 discloses a pen-based computer having a function of varying an orientation of a screen image displayed on a display. In this pen-based computer, the orientation of the screen image is varied in response to user's operations of mercury switches or sensing results of the mercury switches.
The technology of the above U.S. Patent is however directed to a pen-based computer including a display unit and a housing that are formed integrally as one component. It does not take into consideration the control of the orientation of a screen image in a portable computer having a housing with a keyboard on its top surface and a display unit rotatably attached to the housing.